Manu to miss remainder of season

The stiffness Spurs guard Manu Ginobili felt in his right ankle during Sunday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers turned out to portend the worst possible news for the star guard and the Spurs: A stress fracture that will cost him the remainder of the season, and the playoffs.

Ginobili had returned to game action March 25 in Atlanta after missing 19 games with a stress reaction in his right distal fibula. Sunday's game was his sixth since returning to the lineup, and followed three games in which he had totaled 50 points. After scoring 16 in a victory in Indianapolis on Friday, Ginobili had reported that he felt "super."

When the ankle stiffened Sunday, he sought advice from the team's athletic training and conditioning staff, and was sent back to San Antonio for a CT scan and MRI. The results of tests conducted Monday morning showed the stress fracture, and the determination that the team's starting shooting guard would miss the remainder of the season.

No timetable has been set for when Ginobili will return to the court.

Ginobili began the season on the injured list after surgery on his left ankle that was conducted in September. He missed 12 games, but returned Nov. 24, when he scored 12 points in a Spurs victory in Memphis.

In late January and early February, Ginobili put together a string of games that appeared to show he was back to his All-Star form. He averaged 24.0 points in the six games that preceded the All-Star break, including three games with 30 or more points. His high game for the season, a 32-point output at Toronto on Feb. 11, was his last game before the stress reaction was discovered just after the All-Star break.